When a program is broadcast, the information it contains may be more limited than the program provider wants to provide and less than the audience member (referred to hereinafter as a “viewer” or “participant”) is interested in obtaining. The “program” can be audio and/or video, commercial (e.g. advertisement) and/or non-commercial (e.g. a TV show), and is obtained as a programming signal (e.g. a television signal) from a program signal source (e.g. a television station) originated by a program provider (e.g. an advertiser). The “broadcast” of the program can be over the airwaves, cable, satellite, or any other signal transmission medium. This term also applies to playback from recording media such as audio tape, video tape, DAT, CD-ROM, and semiconductor memory. An “audience” for such program reproduction is constituted of the persons who perceive the program.
The program is “performed” by any reproduction equipment which results in some form of output that is perceptible to human beings, the most common being video and audio. The “reproduction equipment” is any and all types of units to convert a broadcast signal into human perceptible form.
The audience can be described as being “tuned” to a program when the signal source is a TV or radio broadcast station. This term may be less commonly applied when the signal source is a tape recorder. However, for the sake of brevity and convenience, the word “tuned” is applied herein to all situations in which a person chooses to be an audience member of a particular program, whether it be by twisting a dial, operating a remote control, or popping a cassette into a tape recorder for playback.
It can be readily appreciated that TV programs are restricted to a particular length due to the time period allocated to a TV show, and the high cost charged for broadcasting a commercial advertisement (referred to herein interchangeably as “commercial” or “advertisement”) based on its duration. Many illustrations can be given that demonstrate the need to provide materials to supplement the TV show and/or advertisement. For example, consumers may seek detailed information about an advertised product. A news program could provide viewers with historical information about a person or place currently in the news. Government institutions could provide application forms related to announcements for public services. A retailer could make available an incentive reward, such as discount coupons, to purchase its products. Other rewards could also be available, such as free theater tickets for viewers who qualify by participating in a survey or in a game. All such supplementary program-related materials, in tangible and intangible form, be they information, rewards or anything else, are collectively referred to herein as “supplementary materials”. Two specific types of supplementary materials that are referred to in the ensuing explanation of the present invention are supplemental information and rewards.
Broadcast programs have been providing telephone numbers and uniform resource locators (URLs) to viewers for obtaining the supplementary materials. However, the need to memorize or write down the telephone numbers and/or URLs is an inconvenience as well as a source for error. Consequently, prior art techniques have been proposed for interactive access to such supplementary materials. The word “interactive” as utilized herein denotes an activity that takes place during broadcast of the program. The aim of such interactive access is to enable and facilitate access to the supplementary materials, immediately or at a later time, without having to write down or memorize anything. Access should be gained with some simple manual intervention by the viewer, completely automatically, or a combination of the two.
Several techniques for interactive access to web sites on the Internet are known. However, such techniques have various shortcomings. For example, the use of an additional computer with a separate display is required, and the interactive access takes over a communication line.